First Four preview: La Salle vs Boise State tops tonight's lineup

The 2013 NCAA Tournament continues tonight, with
another pair of play-in games as two more at-larges and two more conference tournament winners square off for the final two slots in the Round of 64 and the true Madness that begins on Thursday.

Both La Salle and Boise State were left to sweat
out the entire NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, finally hearing their
names called late in the hour as the final two at-large selections. One will
advance to face 4-seed Kansas St. in the second round on Friday.

Season Recap: La Salle lost in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinal to
Butler, 69-58, but went dancing for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
The Explorers' inclusion is heavily based on the last week in January, when
they knocked off then-No. 9 Butler (at home) and No. 19 Virginia Commonwealth
(on the road) just four days apart. An early-season loss to Central Connecticut
State wasn't enough to keep Dr. John Giannini and company out of the
tournament.

Boise State also lost in its tournament
quarterfinals, falling 73-67 to fellow NCAA at-large selection San Diego State.
The Broncos still made their first NCAA tournament since a 25-win campaign in
2007-08 thanks to a non-conference win over Creighton, league wins over SDSU
and Colorado State, and solid computer numbers (RPI: 44, SOS: 55). Leon Rice's
crew only lost two 100+ RPI games all season; the "worst" was a road loss at
Nevada (RPI: 173).

Star Watch: Ramon Galloway, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, was third in the A-10
in scoring at 17.0 ppg. The Explorers' only senior is also a very good defender
(2.0 spg) and rebounder (4.6 rpg), and is also their emotional leader on and
off the court. Anthony Drmic, a 6-6 wing, was second in the MWC at 17.3 ppg,
hitting 38.7 percent of his 3-pointers and 46.1 percent from the field overall.
The Australian native has six 20-point efforts in his team's last seven games.

Key Stat: Rebounding. According to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy, the
Broncos are the third-best team in the country at hitting the defensive glass,
pulling in 75.4 percent of opponents' misses. La Salle, on the flip side, only
picks up 29.6 percent of available offensive boards, which ranks 241st
nationally. Without the services of sophomore F/C Steve Zack (foot injury), La
Salle is going to need strong rebounding efforts from their guards, which
didn't happen in the Butler loss. Senior forward Ryan Watkins pulls in 18.4
percent of available offensive rebounds while he's on the court, which is the
top mark among all players nationally; reserve big man Kenny Buckner is in the
top 75 for both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.

Inside scoop: Both teams tend to play smaller lineups, so it's possible the
absence of Zack won't bother La Salle too much as long as Wright can stay on
the floor and out of foul trouble while guarding Watkins and Buckner. La Salle
has one of the most talented guard trios in the country with Galloway and
Tyreek Duren (15.0 ppg, 3.3 apg) as well as sixth man Ty Garland (12.9 ppg),
and all three are capable of going for 20 or more. Boise State has a very
capable second scorer of their own in sophomore guard Derrick Marks, who was
fifth in the MWC at 16.3 ppg; the question for the Broncos is whether or not
sharpshooter Jeff Elorriaga (45.1 3PT%) can get free against that athletic
Explorer backcourt.

James Madison is in the NCAA tournament for the
first time since 1994, while an experienced Blackbirds squad has been dancing
for each of the three years. Things got even tougher for the Dukes this weekend
when starting forward Rayshawn Goins was arrested; he'll sit out the first half
as punishment. East regional top seed Indiana awaits the victor on Friday.

Season Recap: In the most wide-open CAA season in recent memory, James Madison
rode a third seed in the postseason tournament to three consecutive victories,
including a 70-57 title game win over top seed Northeastern to clinch the
automatic bid. The Blackbirds got off to a 5-10 (0-3) start in Jack Perri's
first year but then won 10 of 11 to right the ship; three 90-point efforts in
the NEC tournament culminated with a 91-70 romp of Mount St. Mary's in the
title game.

Star Watch: With Goins on the bench for 20 minutes, the scoring load for JMU
will likely be shouldered by fellow seniors A.J. Davis (12.1 ppg) and Devon
Moore (11.6 ppg). All three shoot better than 37 percent from beyond the arc.
LIU has been without its star in Julian Boyd most of the season; the reigning
conference player of the year has been out since December with a torn ACL after
averaging 18.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg through seven games. Another 6-foot-7 senior,
Jamal Olasewere, is averaging 18.9 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

Key Stat: Turnovers. James Madison was tops in the CAA in turnover margin,
at +2.7 per game. LIU-Brooklyn was eighth in the NEC at -1.36 per game, and
they turn it over on a little more than 20 percent of their possessions while
JMU forces turnovers at just over a 21 percent clip (91st nationally). The
senior backcourt of Davis and Moore has helped the Dukes turn the ball over on
just 17.4 percent of possessions, 34th nationally according to KenPom.

Inside Scoop: Though both teams are relatively experienced squads, the
Blackbirds shouldn't be fazed by the tournament atmosphere. Olasewere, C.J.
Garner, and Jason Brickman are all playing in their third NCAA game, while
senior Jason Thompson is in his second after missing the 2010-11 tournament. If
James Madison can keep things close without Goins in the first half, they have
a chance to ride the momentum of his return to a date with the Hoosiers. But without
their leading rebounder, that's going to be a tough task against Olasewere and
company.

Josh Verlin is the
editor/senior writer for CityofBasketballLove.com, focusing on high
school/collegiate basketball in and around Philadelphia